When a user is to perform communication with another user by using a portable-type data communication apparatus, such as a portable phone terminal, usually, the phone number of the other party is obtained in advance, and a communication line (communication channel) is formed by using the obtained phone number.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-233564 discloses an apparatus in which a communication party is selected by using a listed address note in which communication parties are listed in order sorted on the basis of evaluation values indicating the degree of friendship, and communication is performed.
In recent years, in addition to the above-described portable phone terminals, as data communication terminals, various types, such as audio playback apparatuses having a communication function, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), or portable game machines having a communication function, have been proposed.
Also, a communication infrastructure is not limited to a portable telephone network, and in particular, as a communication infrastructure for short-distance communication, communication means using infrared rays, Bluetooth, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) in compliance with the IEEE 802.11 standard, have been provided.
As such a short-distance communication infrastructure has appeared, unlike communication of the related art using portable phone terminals, it is expected that the likelihood of communication with an unknown communication party will increase. As a result, it is expected that a new type of communication world will be created.
For example, when there are plural people jogging in the same direction at substantially the same speed, communication can be performed among the data communication terminals owned by the plural people so that music content listened to by the plural people can be shared. For example, if the plural people are romantically involved, it is possible to have a music world of only their own while jogging.
When a person having a portable game machine with a communication function wants to play a combat game with an arbitrary person who similarly has a portable game machine with a communication function at a certain place, it is considered that a portable game machine of a person at rest in that place rather than a person passing through the place is detected, and communication is performed.
A case may occur in which, while a person is at rest in a certain place, he/she wants to perform communication with a person passing through the place while jogging or with a person passing through the place while walking by using a data communication apparatus.
An object of the present invention is to create a new type of communication world such as that described above.